[REVIEW] 70mai A810 is one of the best 4K cameras for your car

Car cameras from the 70mai brand are very popular thanks to the video quality. Personally, we also use one of the earlier models and we’re very satisfied with it. This time, however, we’ll focus on the new model with 4K support, 70mai A810.

We have the camera available in a set together with the rear camera and the so-called HW kit, which you need for monitoring while parking. In the review, we’ll look at how to connect it, the image quality of both cameras, and get familiar with the individual features.

Where to buy 70mai A810?

You can buy the 70mai A810 car camera via the manufacturer’s official shop 70mai on the well-known online marketplace AliExpress.

Best coupons for the 70mai A810 dash cam

Delivery from China is completely free and takes about 2 – 3 weeks. The advantage is access to verified duty-free shipping via Aliexpress Selection Standard.

Technical specifications

Packaging contents & quality

The 70mai A810 car camera was delivered to us by a courier from DHL in a box measuring 23.5 x 20.5 x 8 cm and weighing 0.9 kg. We appreciate the double packaging using an additional box along with a nylon mailer and air reinforcement.

We also have a set with a small rear camera and an HW kit labeled UP03. It’s placed in its own small box. In the main box, besides the cameras, you’ll also find a pair of cables, a mount for the front camera, a pair of electrostatic window films, a charging adapter with two USB ports, and a plastic tool for hiding the cables into the car’s trim.

The packaging is extremely high quality and includes everything you need to install the cameras.

Design and build quality

The main/front camera measures 36.3 x 59.8 x 88 mm and has a very elegant design. The camera is dominated by a large 3″ IPS display that’s not touch-enabled, but four buttons under the display are used for control.

On one side of the camera, you’ll find a button to turn it on/off and to light up the display, while on the other side there are ports for connecting power and the rear camera. You’ll also find a slot for a MicroSD memory card.

The rear camera has no controls at all and is much smaller than the front one. The cable is hardwired inside, with no way to disconnect it. With both cameras, the small lens module can be rotated in the vertical direction.

Connecting and mounting in the car

Connecting the cameras is very easy, and you’ll get it done in just a few minutes. The first step is to stick the electrostatic film onto the car window. We placed the camera right under the rearview mirror on the front windshield, so we applied the film there. Unfortunately, we couldn’t attach it without air bubbles, but that’s only an aesthetic issue.

Next, we attached the camera to the electrostatic film. For this step, we recommend turning the camera on first so you can see on its display whether you’re sticking it straight, based on the image. Since the lens rotates only in one direction—vertically—after you’ve attached the camera you can adjust it only partially by rotating the lens.

The cable connects to the camera from the side and is long enough for you to tuck it away between the windshield and the interior headliner, then into the door seal trim, under the seat, or into the front storage compartment up to the 12 V outlet. The adapter has 2 ports, so besides the camera you can use it to charge your phone as well.

The rear camera also has its own electrostatic sticker, of course it’s smaller. We stuck it onto the rear window of the trunk, where we then attached the camera in the same way. The cable to the rear camera is longer, but it doesn’t connect to the adapter—it connects directly to the front camera itself.

HW kit without 4G support

We’ve also written about the HW kit in our review of the stylish 70 mai camera labeled Omni, so we’ll only describe it briefly here. The HW kit is used to unlock the vehicle monitoring feature while parked, which allows us to provide the camera with a permanent power supply regardless of whether the car is started or not.

The HW kit features a USB-C cable on one end and a set of three cables on the other end. They are labeled as VCC+, ACC, and GND. The red VCC+ cable requires connection to a 12V voltage source that is available even when ignition isn’t turned on. The yellow ACC cable connects to the source that activates 12 V after turning the key. The black GND is for grounding and connects to any metal part of the car.

You can find the wiring video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj1pymYvLuw

The latest HW kit model from 70mai, labeled UP03, also supports 4G networks. Simply insert a SIM card into it to enable connection to the camera from anywhere.

Connecting to a smartphone

We can also easily connect the 70mai A810 camera to a smartphone using the 70mai app. After launching the app, the smartphone immediately finds the camera nearby automatically, so we didn’t have to search for it in the device list.

Pairing itself is then both very easy and fast. It consists of turning on the camera’s WiFi hotspot, to which the smartphone then connects. So pairing is very simple—and above all, quick.

Video and its quality

Cameras from the 70mai brand are well known for their video quality, which is why they’re fairly popular. The new model offers up to 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160 px thanks to the Sony Starvis 2 IMX678 sensor with a size of 1/1.8″. Unfortunately, 4K video runs at only 25 fps, while at 60 fps you only get Full HD resolution.

The manufacturer claims crystal-clear image quality with low noise and a sophisticated HDR algorithm that the company develops in-house. In the promotional materials, you’ll also find several technologies with names like MaiColor Vivid+ Solution or 70mai Night Owl Vision. These handle color rendering and recording in low light.

In reality, the video quality is really very good. The image is clear, car license plates are sharply legible, and basically we don’t have any complaints. The dynamic range is great too, as you can see in strong sunlight or when driving out of an underground garage.

After it gets dark, noise becomes visible in the video, but the quality is still good. The only issue is perhaps the glow from car lights, which the camera could dampen better.

Rear camera and recording

However, in this setup the rear camera somewhat takes a back seat and is more of an add-on. Even on the manufacturer’s website, it’s listed only under accessories with a very brief description of the specs: 1080 p HDR, 130° FOV, and aperture f/2.0.

The picture quality from the rear camera is significantly worse. In videos, noise is often clearly visible, sharpness isn’t perfect, and for example car license plates are usually only readable if our car isn’t moving.

This set records video to a MicroSD memory card, which is not included. After you insert the card for the first time, you’ll be asked to format it.

Videos from the front and rear camera each have their own folders. Even though the cameras record continuously while riding, the video isn’t continuous—it’s split into multiple videos, each one lasting one minute.

Videos from events, parking, timelapse, and photos also have separate folders. Then, inside each of them, you’ll find two folders—one for the front camera and one for the rear camera.

Controls and main menu

The 70mai A810 car camera turns on as soon as you turn the car key in the ignition. The 70mai logo appears briefly, and then on the display you can see a live feed from the main/front camera. With the first button on the left, you can easily switch the image to the rear camera.

The second button is for recording an emergency video, the third for switching to the video and photo album, and the last, fourth button is for going to settings.

Settings

In the settings section, you’ll find the following menu: video settings, system settings, format, safe parking, smart travel, sound settings, download the app, system update, restore factory settings, warranty activation, and about the app.

Video settings let you change the video length (1, 2, or 3 minutes), video resolution, HDR, and the refresh frequency (PAL 50 Hz, NTSC 60 Hz, or JPN 55 Hz). You can also show speed and GPS data in the video, plus the 70mai logo.

In system settings, you can customize the camera’s WiFi hotspot, the screen saver turn-on time, automatic power-off after the car stops, the system time, language, data format, or the GPS status.

Safe parking includes options for monitoring the area around the parked car. Here, you can set collision or motion detection, or enable time-lapse recording.

Smart travel refers to the ADAS system and emergency videos, where you can turn video recording on or off during an emergency situation, along with sensitivity (high, medium, or low). With the ADAS system, you can choose from features such as vehicle movement in front of you, leaving your lane, collision with the vehicle in front of you, or collision with a person and a vehicle.

Audio recording is disabled by default at the factory, and this is one of the sound settings. Besides that, you can also turn the voice prompt tone on/off, enable/disable button sounds, and adjust the speaker volume.

App and its options

The 70mai app works via a WiFi connection to the camera’s hotspot. Its home screen offers live video display and several options. The interface is very simple and clear.

The buttons under the camera preview are used to stop recording, take a photo, and switch to the rear camera. Below, you can access the album and settings.

In the album, individual videos appear in separate categories, or on a timeline. The timeline groups all the classic videos together, and in it you can easily move backward or forward, or download the videos to your smartphone.

Settings include almost all the options you can find in the camera too—and that we described above.

Monitoring a parked car and ADAS

As we already mentioned earlier, after connecting the camera via the HW kit, the parking monitoring feature is unlocked. This feature activates one minute after powering off and starts recording when the camera detects movement within its field of view.

Connecting the HW kit also unlocks the ADAS feature, which works as a kind of assistant system. It alerts you about leaving the lane, the vehicle in front of you, or pedestrians on the road. Since Czech is supported here, the voice notifications from this assistant service are in Czech.

Honestly, in our opinion this feature is pretty much unnecessary. In almost every lane departure we heard the message “Lane departure”, even during overtaking or turning. Also, in almost every situation where we approach the car in front, the camera warns us about it—even when there’s no emergency.

70mai A810: Final verdict

The 70mai A810 car camera delivers a great image with pleasant colors, a good dynamic range, and even up to 4K resolution. A nice bonus is the rear camera too—although it doesn’t have the same specs, it will be especially useful for recording a collision or suspicious activity around the car.

The main camera offers plenty of settings that you can change directly on the camera or conveniently in the 70mai app via your smartphone. There’s also parking surveillance, collision detection, an ADAS system, and continuous recording of time-lapse video.

One of the few downsides is perhaps just the frame rate, which at 4K resolution is only 25 fps. More specifically, 60 fps is available only at Full HD resolution—which, by the way, isn’t bad at all and in many cases is completely sufficient.